Tenants are putting ‘their lives on hold’ during rental crisis

With rents at record highs and an ongoing cost of living crisis, renters are starting to feel the effects and are now putting their personal and professional lives on hold, research reveals.

The findings from SpareRoom highlight that with demand and rents at an all-time high, and the supply of homes to rent at a 10-year low, there are ‘hidden consequences’ for tenants.

The research shows that 98% of renters are concerned about the current state of the UK’s rental market, with high rents being the key worry.

‘Current rental market isn’t working for anyone’

Matt Hutchinson, a director at SpareRoom, said: “The current rental market isn’t working for anyone.

“Renters are stressed and struggling, landlords are leaving the market and our workforce is becoming less and less flexible by the day.

“Both the Conservatives and Labour are heading into the next election promising to grow the UK economy and jobs play a big part in that.”

He added: “Jobs are the number one reason why people relocate, but if people are unable or unwilling to move to take those jobs, the nation’s economic growth may well suffer too.”

Putting their life plans on hold due to affordability

The current rental market means many people are putting their life plans on hold due to affordability with the key plans affected being:

• Moving into their own place (64%)
• Going travelling (30%)
• Moving in with a partner (15%)
• Planning for a family (14%)
• Studying (13%)
• Getting married (5%)

Opted to stay put even though they’d rather move

Nearly three-quarters (72%) of respondents who haven’t moved in the past 18 months said they opted to stay put even though they’d rather move. The reasons they gave for this include:

• Available properties were out of budget (82%)
• Lack of supply (46%)
• Available supply was lower standard than they wanted (46%)
• High levels of competition (43%)
• They’d have had to leave their current area to afford to move (37%)
• Properties were let too quickly to secure a viewing (33%)
• Didn’t want to get into a bidding war (27%)

Renters say they would consider turning down a job opportunity

SpareRoom also says that two-thirds (65%) of renters say they would consider turning down a job opportunity to avoid having to look for a new place.

A third (33%) of tenants say they have already turned down a new job to avoid having to relocate.

The platform says that rental demand hit an all-time high in 2022 – while supply was at its lowest point in almost a decade.

As a result, rents rose to record highs in almost every major UK town and city.

But the firm highlights that the main reason for the current rental crisis is that landlords are selling up and leaving the PRS.

That comes after legislation pushed up landlord costs, which led to higher rents and a drop in homes to rent.

In a recent SpareRoom poll of landlords, a third said they would reduce the number of properties they have this year – and 16% said they were quitting altogether.

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